Beer Reviews, Education and Nonsense.

The Perfect Pint: Specialty Glasses

In an effort to expand on the “education” part of my “Beer Reviews, Education and Nonsense” motto, I am continuing my series of posts that will focus on beer glassware. Specifically, I will be talking about the glass’s shape and why that particular glass is an appropriate vessel for a specific beer style.

This week I will be discussing “True” specialty glasses. So far I have been talking in general terms about style appropriate glassware and how they can accentuate the beers that have been poured into them. On the other hand, “True” specialty glasses are usually specific to one brewery or even one beer. These glasses come in many different sizes and shapes and are only limited by the imagination of the designer.

Specialty Glass

Often, specialty glasses have a unique story behind them. My first true specialty glass was a Kwak glass, see illustration. This glass is a perfect example of specialty glasses because of its unique shape and accessory not to mention a great origin story. I won’t go into the story here but you will be able to find the story with a quick internet search.

Finding the correct beer for these glasses shouldn’t be too hard. The glasses usually have the appropriate beer or brewery name on them and often they are sold as gift packs that contain the glass and a few beers as well. As with any glass, you can drink any beer you want to out of these glasses and you may want to as the appropriate beer may be cost prohibitive to drink on a regular basis.